One Dog at a Time

This is actually a post from my Facebook page which so many people liked and commented on that I decided to share it here. If we help just one dog by sharing good information with people it is well worth it.

Mastiff/Pit Mix photo from Adopt-A-Pet

Last night at work I saw a couple and their teen son trying a prong collar on their mastiff/pit mix. He was sitting and looking very stressed (ears flat, head turning, lip licking) as they were pulling on it to see if it was too big. I began talking with them and they said their vet recommended a prong collar because the dog was a puller. We talked about reward-based training and I explained that the prong may prevent pulling (because it hurts) but could create bigger problems. While we were talking I crouched down with my side to the dog and let him approach me. He was friendly and I stroked his chest and side. They agreed to let me fit him for a padded, front-attach harness. We removed the prong and while I was fitting the harness he was giving me big sloppy kisses as I was telling him what a good boy he was. I know I get too emotional when it comes to dogs but I felt like he understood what was happening and was thanking me, LOL. The woman walked him around the store for a few minutes and agreed to buy the harness. Needless to say, it made my day to see them leaving with the harness on the dog who was much more relaxed. Small victory but very sweet.

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This is a huge pet peeve of mine about vets. I understand they need to know about the medical side and not the behavioural, but when they spout rubbish about things that aren’t true (apparently 10 week old Zoey jumped up because she was dominant – who knew?) and recommend tools such as prong collars and choke chains…people believe them because they are vets. They think they know best.

I went to help out with a family member’s young dog several years ago and their vet had told them to use a choke chain. Me and my partner tried to explain why a harness is much better and I shared videos on teaching lead manners…the dog is still in the choke chain (of course he pulls very strongly and makes the most heart-wrenching noises) because “the vet said so”.

I agree some vets give bad training advice. People listen because they are “professionals”. They are medical professionals but most do not study behavior and training. They should just stick to what they know.